Hi guys,
Ok I don't even know where to start....well here goes.
As suggested I took my car to a suspension shop who checked it out and didn't find anything untoward. Lincoln, I showed the shop about what you said about the A arm pivot possibly being set incorrectly. They didn't know what exactly you meant and said something about the pivots being the bushes and being non-adjustable. I had to go to work so couldn't watch the shop when they did it so I couldn't see whether the wheels dropped like you said Lincoln, but the shop mechanic didn't seem sure what you meant by the wheels dropping.
I also took them alignment settings that were posted and they told me that the only thing that can be adjusted in the gti6 (or at least my one) was toe. Camber/caster etc were all fixed. I rang my mechanic who's a pug specialist and he said the same thing about the alignment being fixed except for toe in/out.
They checked out the suspension and said nothing was worn out and all the arms were straight and not bent or anything.
Anyway, they adjusted it for toe..they said it was running slightly high toe in at the front and they reduced that. I took it for a short drive and turn in was definitely better but not by a massive amount. Another quirky thing..which I noticed before and after the alignment is that there is better turn in into left hand corners than right hand corners.
When you say the A arm can be set incorrectly, what exactly do you mean..like do you mean the actual wheel alignment settings or? Also do some gti6's come with fully adjustable settings?? Cos apparently my one (late 98' model) is only adjustable for toe.
The shop also suggested that Koni shocks in the rear would improve turn in. They said that though my rear shocks weren't worn or anything, they said that since the car had done 45000 kms, factory shocks start to go around then and the car's handling slowly decreases.... The shocks they suggested were Koni 87-2601L and 87-2601R on the Front left and right respectively and Koni 26-1487's on the rear.
One thing you said Lincoln keeps nagging at me that something isn't quite right like you suggested..and that is the ride is a little harsh. Not terrible, but still not exactly supple. I remember you saying that when your car had the problems it resulted in understeer AND a harsher ride..
My biggest problem is I don't have another one to compare to. If there's anyone in the Adelaide area who has a gti6 or a a s16/xsi, please contact me if you don't mind helping me out. If you're not keen on letting me drive your car, I don't mind at all even if you take my car for a drive so you can tell me the differences.
Thanks for the help and advice everyone, I'm sure everything will all be worth it when I get the thing sorted out!
Ok I don't even know where to start....well here goes.
As suggested I took my car to a suspension shop who checked it out and didn't find anything untoward. Lincoln, I showed the shop about what you said about the A arm pivot possibly being set incorrectly. They didn't know what exactly you meant and said something about the pivots being the bushes and being non-adjustable. I had to go to work so couldn't watch the shop when they did it so I couldn't see whether the wheels dropped like you said Lincoln, but the shop mechanic didn't seem sure what you meant by the wheels dropping.
I also took them alignment settings that were posted and they told me that the only thing that can be adjusted in the gti6 (or at least my one) was toe. Camber/caster etc were all fixed. I rang my mechanic who's a pug specialist and he said the same thing about the alignment being fixed except for toe in/out.
They checked out the suspension and said nothing was worn out and all the arms were straight and not bent or anything.
Anyway, they adjusted it for toe..they said it was running slightly high toe in at the front and they reduced that. I took it for a short drive and turn in was definitely better but not by a massive amount. Another quirky thing..which I noticed before and after the alignment is that there is better turn in into left hand corners than right hand corners.
When you say the A arm can be set incorrectly, what exactly do you mean..like do you mean the actual wheel alignment settings or? Also do some gti6's come with fully adjustable settings?? Cos apparently my one (late 98' model) is only adjustable for toe.
The shop also suggested that Koni shocks in the rear would improve turn in. They said that though my rear shocks weren't worn or anything, they said that since the car had done 45000 kms, factory shocks start to go around then and the car's handling slowly decreases.... The shocks they suggested were Koni 87-2601L and 87-2601R on the Front left and right respectively and Koni 26-1487's on the rear.
One thing you said Lincoln keeps nagging at me that something isn't quite right like you suggested..and that is the ride is a little harsh. Not terrible, but still not exactly supple. I remember you saying that when your car had the problems it resulted in understeer AND a harsher ride..
My biggest problem is I don't have another one to compare to. If there's anyone in the Adelaide area who has a gti6 or a a s16/xsi, please contact me if you don't mind helping me out. If you're not keen on letting me drive your car, I don't mind at all even if you take my car for a drive so you can tell me the differences.
Thanks for the help and advice everyone, I'm sure everything will all be worth it when I get the thing sorted out!
Talk about converting !